Gas supply system, substrate processing apparatus and gas supply method

ABSTRACT

A gas supply system for supplying a gas into a processing chamber for processing a substrate to be processed includes: a processing gas supply unit; a processing gas supply line; a first and a second branch line; a branch flow control unit; an additional gas supply unit; an additional gas supply line; and a control unit. The control unit performs, before processing the substrate to be processed, a processing gas supply control and an additional gas supply control by using the processing gas supply unit and the additional gas supply unit, respectively, wherein the additional gas supply control includes a control that supplies the additional gas at an initial flow rate greater than a set flow rate and then at the set flow rate after a lapse of a period of time.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This a divisional application of pending U.S. Ser. No. 11/671,115, filedFeb. 5, 2007, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein byreference. U.S. Ser. No. 11/671,115 claims the benefit of priority under35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/773,650,filed Feb. 16, 2006, and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-028566 filed Feb. 6,2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a gas supply system for supplying a gasinto a processing chamber, a substrate processing apparatus and a gassupply method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A substrate processing apparatus is configured to perform specificprocesses such as a film forming process, an etching process and thelike on a substrate to be processed (hereinafter, simply referred to as“substrate”) such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal substrateor the like.

As for such a substrate processing apparatus, there has been known aplasma processing apparatus, for example. The plasma processingapparatus includes, inside a processing chamber, a lower electrodeserving also as a mounting table for mounting thereon a substrate and anupper electrode serving also as a shower head for injecting a gas towardthe substrate. Such a parallel plate type plasma processing apparatus isconfigured to perform specific processes such as a film forming process,an etching process and the like with the use of a plasma generated byapplying a high frequency power between both electrodes while supplyinga specific gas through the shower head onto the substrate in theprocessing chamber.

In performing on the substrate specific processes such as a film formingprocess, an etching process and the like, there has been demanded toimprove in-surface uniformity in processing the substrate by makingprocessing characteristics (e.g., an etching rate, an etchingselectivity, a film forming rate and the like) uniform in a surface ofthe substrate.

In such a view, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Application Nos. H8-158072and H9-45624, there have been proposed techniques for supplying aprocessing gas of optional composition at an optional flow rate toplural portions on a substrate surface via gas supply lines individuallyconnected with a plurality of gas chambers formed by dividing the insideof the shower head. In accordance with such techniques, the in-surfaceuniformity in etching the substrate can be improved by locally adjustinga gas concentration on the substrate surface.

A gas used for an actual substrate processing is obtained by mixingplural types of gases, e.g., a processing gas directly participating ina substrate processing, a gas for controlling a deposition of reactionproducts generated in the substrate processing, a carrier gas such as aninactive gas or the like, and the like. The types of gases areappropriately selected depending on target materials on the substrate orprocessing conditions. Therefore, there arises a need to perform a flowrate control by using a mass flow controller provided on each of the gassupply lines respectively connected with the gas chambers in the showerhead, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No.H9-45624.

However, in such a conventional configuration, although the gasessupplied to plural portions on a substrate surface include common gases,each of the gases supplied from the gas chambers has its own gas supplysystem and, also, flow rates thereof are individually controlled.Accordingly, a line configuration and a flow rate control in each of thelines become complicated, which results in requiring a large space forthe lines and an increased burden of control.

Moreover, an additional gas supply system may be provided in addition tothe aforementioned gas supply system to thereby adjust components of thegases supplied to the gas chambers of the processing chamber by addingan additional gas, which is supplied at a preset flow rate from theadditional gas supply system, to the gases from the gas supply system.However, when the additional gas is supplied at a very small flow rate(e.g., a few sccm), an inner pressure of a line of the additional gassupply system does not increase rapidly, which lengthens time requiredfor the additional gas to reach the processing chamber via the line ofthe additional gas supply system. Accordingly, a gas concentration inthe processing chamber becomes stable after a lapse of a long period oftime, which may deteriorate a throughput.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a gassupply system and the like, capable of achieving a desired in-surfaceuniformity with a simple line configuration and shortening time requiredfor supplying an additional gas by a simple control.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a gassupply system for supplying a gas into a processing chamber forprocessing a substrate to be processed, the system including:

a processing gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas forprocessing the substrate to be processed;

a processing gas supply line for allowing the processing gas from theprocessing gas supply unit to flow therein;

a first and a second branch line branched from the processing gas supplyline to be connected with different portions of the processing chamber;

a branch flow control unit for controlling branch flows of theprocessing gas distributed from the processing gas supply line to thefirst and the second branch line based on inner pressures of the firstand the second branch line, respectively;

an additional gas supply unit for supplying an additional gas;

an additional gas supply line, joining the second branch line at adownstream side of the branch flow control unit, for allowing theadditional gas from the additional gas supply unit to flow therein; and

a control unit for performing, before processing the substrate to beprocessed, a processing gas supply control and an additional gas supplycontrol by using the processing gas supply unit and the additional gassupply unit, respectively,

wherein the additional gas supply control includes a control thatsupplies the additional gas at an initial flow rate greater than a setflow rate and then at the set flow rate after a lapse of a period oftime.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided asubstrate processing apparatus including:

a processing chamber for processing a substrate to be processed;

a gas supply system for supplying a gas into the processing chamber; and

a control unit for controlling the gas supply system,

wherein the gas supply system includes:

-   -   a processing gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas for        processing the substrate to be processed;    -   a processing gas supply line for allowing the processing gas        from the processing gas supply unit to flow therein;    -   a first and a second branch line branched from the processing        gas supply line to be connected with different portions of the        processing chamber;    -   a branch flow control unit for controlling branch flows of the        processing gas distributed from the processing gas supply line        to the first and the second branch line based on inner pressures        of the first and the second branch line, respectively;    -   an additional gas supply unit for supplying an additional gas;        and    -   an additional gas supply line, joining the second branch line at        a downstream side of the branch flow control unit, for allowing        the additional gas from the additional gas supply unit to flow        therein, and

wherein the control unit performs, before processing the substrate to beprocessed, a processing gas supply control and an additional gas supplycontrol by using the processing gas supply unit and the additional gassupply unit, respectively, wherein the additional gas supply controlincludes a control that supplies the additional gas at an initial flowrate greater than a set flow rate and then at the set flow rate after alapse of a period of time.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a gas supply method for use with a gas supply system forsupplying a gas into a processing chamber for processing a substrate tobe processed, wherein the gas supply system includes a processing gassupply unit for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrateto be processed; a processing gas supply line for allowing theprocessing gas from the processing gas supply unit to flow therein; afirst and a second branch line branched from the processing gas supplyline to be connected with different portions of the processing chamber;a branch flow control unit for controlling branch flows of theprocessing gas distributed from the processing gas supply line to thefirst and the second branch line based on inner pressures of the firstand the second branch line, respectively; an additional gas supply unitfor supplying an additional gas; and an additional gas supply line,joining the second branch line at a downstream side of the branch flowcontrol unit, for allowing the additional gas from the additional gassupply unit to flow therein, the method including the steps of, beforeprocessing the substrate to be processed:

performing a control of supplying the processing gas at a first set flowrate from the processing gas supply unit; and

performing a control of supplying the additional gas at an initial flowrate greater than a second set flow rate and then at the second set flowrate after a lapse of a period of time.

In accordance with the aforementioned aspects of the present invention,the processing gas from the processing gas supply unit are distributedto the first and the second branch line by the processing gas supplycontrol and, also, the additional gas from the additional gas supplyunit joins the second branch line via the additional gas supply line bythe additional gas supply control. The processing gas distributed fromthe processing gas supply unit to the first branch line is supplied tothe processing chamber without being changed, whereas the processing gassupplied from the processing gas supply unit to the second branch lineis supplied to the processing chamber after adjusting components and aflow rate thereof with a specific additional gas added thereto.Therefore, the processing gas having same components can be suppliedfrom a common processing gas supply unit to each of the branch linesand, also, the components or the flow rate of the processing gas flowingin the second branch line can be adjusted by adding thereto anadditional gas on demand. Accordingly, the number of lines can beminimized and, thus, a simple line configuration can be accomplished. Asa result, a desired in-surface uniformity can be achieved simply bycontrolling a flow rate.

When the additional gas is supplied, it is supplied at an initial flowrate greater than a set flow rate and then supplied at the set flow rateafter a lapse of a period of time. Therefore, even when the set flowrate of the additional gas is very small, an inner pressure of theadditional gas supply line can be rapidly increased, which makes easierfor the additional gas to flow toward the second branch line in a shortperiod of time. Hence, time required for supplying the additional gascan be shortened, which prevents to the utmost a deterioration of athroughput.

Preferably, the initial flow rate is predetermined based on a volume ofthe additional gas supply line in which the additional gas flows and theinner pressure of the second branch line into which the additional gasfrom the additional gas supply line flows. For example, the initial flowrate is preferably predetermined to be a maximum flow rate required foran inner pressure of the additional gas supply line to reach the innerpressure of the second branch line at the lapse of the period of time.Accordingly, it is possible to obtain an optimal initial flow rate atwhich an inner pressure of the additional gas supply line can be rapidlyincreased to that of the second branch line, which shortens timerequired from the initiation of the supply of the additional gas fromthe additional gas supply line to the accomplishment of a stablepressure thereof supplied to the processing chamber via the secondbranch line.

Preferably, the additional gas supply unit includes an additional gasline connected with an additional gas supply source, and wherein theadditional gas supply control includes a control that sets, if theinitial flow rate exceeds a maximum allowable flow rate in theadditional gas line, the maximum allowable flow rate as the initial flowrate and lengthens the period of time to compensate for the reduction ofthe initial flow rate. Herein, the period of time is preferablydetermined to be a time required for the inner pressure of theadditional gas supply line to reach the inner pressure of the secondbranch line when supplying the additional gas at the maximum allowableflow rate set as the initial flow rate. Hence, an initial processing canbe carried out for an optimal initial time in accordance with aconfiguration of a substrate processing apparatus. Therefore, theadditional gas supply control can be optimally performed withoutexceeding the maximum allowable flow rate of the additional gas line.

Preferably, the volume of the additional gas supply line is smaller thanthat of the second branch line. Accordingly, even when the set flow rateof the additional gas is very small compared with that of the processinggas, the inner pressure of the additional gas supply line can be rapidlyincreased.

Preferably, the first branch line is arranged to supply the processinggas flowing therein toward a central region on a surface of thesubstrate disposed in the processing chamber, and the second processinggas branch line is arranged to supply the processing gas flowing thereintoward a peripheral region on the surface of the substrate. As a result,it is possible to improve an uniformity of processing the central regionand the peripheral region of the substrate to be processed.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there isprovide a gas supply system for supplying a gas into a processingchamber for processing a substrate to be processed, the systemincluding:

a processing gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas forprocessing the substrate to be processed;

a processing gas supply line for allowing the processing gas from theprocessing gas supply unit to flow therein;

a first and a second branch line branched from the processing gas supplyline to be connected with different portions of the processing chamber;

a branch flow control unit for controlling branch flows of theprocessing gas distributed from the processing gas supply line to thefirst and the second branch line based on inner pressures of the firstand the second branch line, respectively;

an additional gas supply unit having a plurality of additional gas linesrespectively connected with additional gas sources, downstream sides ofthe additional gas lines being joined together;

an additional gas supply line, joining the second branch line at adownstream side of the branch flow control unit, for allowing additionalgases from the additional gas supply unit to flow therein; and

a control unit for performing, before processing the substrate to beprocessed, a processing gas supply control and an additional gas supplycontrol by using the processing gas supply unit and the additional gassupply unit, respectively,

wherein the additional gas supply control includes a control thatsupplies an additional gas in each additional gas line at an initialflow rate greater than a set flow rate in each additional gas line andthen at the set flow rate after a lapse of a period of time.

In accordance with the aforementioned aspect of the present invention,even when the additional gas supply unit has a plurality of additionalgas lines, the time required for supplying the additional gases can beshortened by controlling the additional gas in each additional gas lineto be supplied at an initial flow rate and, thus, a deterioration of athroughput can be prevented to the utmost.

Preferably, the initial flow rate in each additional gas line isobtained such that a ratio of the initial flow rate in each additionalgas line to a total initial flow rate in whole additional gas lines isequal to a ratio of a set flow rate in said each additional gas line toa total set flow rate in the whole additional gas lines, the totalinitial flow rate being a predetermined maximum flow rate required foran inner pressure of the additional gas supply line to reach the innerpressure of the second branch line after the lapse of the period oftime. Therefore, the additional gas in each additional gas line can becontrolled to be supplied at an initial flow rate in accordance with aset flow rate ratio of the additional gas lines.

The additional gas supply control may include a control of setting, incase an initial flow rate in any additional gas line exceeds a maximumallowable flow rate thereof, the maximum allowable flow rate as theinitial flow rate in said any additional gas line and redetermining aninitial flow rate in each remaining additional gas line and the periodof time. Accordingly, the additional gas supply control can be optimallyperformed without exceeding a maximum allowable flow rate in each of theadditional gas lines. Hence, the initial processing can be carried outfor an optimal initial time in accordance with a configuration of asubstrate processing apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments,given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view of a configuration example of asubstrate processing apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 describes a block diagram of a configuration example of a gassupply system in accordance with the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates timing of an additional gas supply control inperforming an additional gas supply process in accordance with theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 provides a graph showing experimental data of an additional gassupply process performed at a specific initial flow rate;

FIG. 5 presents a graph illustrating experimental data of an additionalgas supply process performed at another initial flow rate;

FIG. 6 represents a graph describing experimental data of an additionalgas supply process performed at the initial flow rate of FIG. 4 whilechanging a line diameter and the like;

FIG. 7 offers a graph showing experimental data of an additional gassupply process performed at the initial flow rate of FIG. 5 whilechanging a line diameter and the like;

FIG. 8 provides a block diagram of a configuration example of a controlunit in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 depicts a configuration example of a data table of gas supplyprocess data of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 describes a flowchart of a specific example of an initial flowrate determining process in accordance with the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a specific example of processes to beexecuted after the initial flow rate determining process;

FIG. 12 is a graph showing a result of an experiment of supplying anadditional gas by the additional gas supply process in accordance withthe embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 presents a flowchart of a specific example of an initial flowrate determining process performed while considering a maximum allowableflow rate of an additional gas line;

FIG. 14 provides a block diagram of another configuration example of thegas supply system in accordance with the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 illustrates another configuration example of the data table ofthe gas supply process data of FIG. 8;

FIG. 16 represents a flowchart of another specific example of theinitial flow rate determining process in accordance with the embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 17 offers a flowchart of another specific example of the initialflow rate determining process performed while considering the maximumallowable flow rate of the additional gas line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like referencenumerals will be given to like parts having substantially the samefunctions, and redundant description thereof will be omitted in thespecification and the accompanying drawings.

(Configuration Example of Substrate Processing Apparatus)

First of all, a substrate processing apparatus in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view showing a schematicconfiguration of the substrate processing apparatus in accordance withthe embodiment of the present invention. Herein, the substrateprocessing apparatus is configured as a parallel plate type plasmaetching apparatus.

Such a substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a processing chamber110 formed of a substantially cylindrical processing vessel. Theprocessing vessel is made of aluminum alloy, for example, and iselectrically grounded. Further, an inner wall surface of the processingvessel is coated with an alumina film or an yttrium oxide film.

Disposed inside the processing chamber 110 is a susceptor 116 forming alower electrode serving also as a mounting table for mounting thereon awafer W as a substrate. To be specific, the susceptor 116 is supportedon a cylindrical susceptor support 114 which is provided at asubstantially central portion of an inner bottom surface of theprocessing chamber 110 with an insulating plate 112 disposedtherebetween. The susceptor 116 is made of aluminum alloy, for example.

Provided on the susceptor 116 is an electrostatic chuck 118 forsupporting the wafer W. The electrostatic chuck 118 has therein anelectrode 120 that is electrically connected with a DC power supply 122.Accordingly, the electrostatic chuck 118 can attract and hold thereonthe wafer W with the Coulomb force generated by a DC voltage appliedfrom the DC power supply 122 to the electrode 120.

Moreover, a focus ring 124 is provided on top of the substrate 116 tosurround the electrostatic chuck 118. Further, a cylindrical inner wallmember 126 made of quartz, for example, is attached to outer peripheralsurfaces of the susceptor 116 and the susceptor support 114.

A ring-shaped coolant chamber 128 is formed inside the susceptor support114 to communicate with a chiller unit (not shown), for example,installed outside the processing chamber 110 via lines 130 a and 130 b.A coolant (liquid coolant or cooling water) is supplied to the coolantchamber 128 to be circulated therein via the lines 130 a and 130 b, sothat a temperature of the wafer W on the susceptor 116 can becontrolled.

A gas supply line 132 is provided through a top surface of theelectrostatic chuck 118 via the susceptor 116 and the susceptor support114. Accordingly, a thermally conductive gas (backside gas) such as Hegas or the like can be supplied between the wafer W and theelectrostatic chuck 118 through the gas supply line 132.

Provided above the susceptor 116 is an upper electrode 134 facing inparallel with the susceptor 116 forming the lower electrode. A plasmageneration space PS is formed between the susceptor 116 and the upperelectrode 134.

The upper electrode 134 includes a circular plate-shaped inner upperelectrode 138 and a ring-shaped outer upper electrode 136 surrounding anouter portion of the inner upper electrode 138. A ring-shaped dielectricmaterial 142 is interposed between the outer upper electrode 136 and theinner upper electrode 138. Airtightly interposed between the outer upperelectrode 136 and an inner peripheral wall of the processing chamber 110is a ring-shaped insulating shielding member 144 made of alumina, forexample.

A first high frequency power supply 154 is electrically connected withthe outer upper electrode 136 via a power feeder 152, a connector 150,an upper power supply rod 148 and a matching unit 146. The first highfrequency power supply 154 can output a high frequency voltage having afrequency of 40 MHz or higher (e.g., 60 MHz).

The power feeder 152 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shapehaving an open bottom, for example, and has a lower portion connectedwith the outer upper electrode 136. A lower portion of the upper powersupply rod 148 is electrically connected with an upper central portionof the power feeder 152 through the connector 150. An upper portion ofthe upper power supply rod 148 is connected with an output side of thematching unit 146. The matching unit 146 is connected with the firsthigh frequency power supply 154 and thus can match an internal impedanceof the first high frequency power supply 154 to a load impedance.

An exterior of the power feeder 152 is covered with a cylindrical groundconductor 111 having a sidewall of a diameter substantially same as thatof the processing chamber 110. A lower portion of the ground conductor111 is connected with an upper portion of the sidewall of the processingchamber 110. The aforementioned upper power supply rod 148 penetratesthrough an upper central portion of the ground conductor 111. Aninsulation member 156 is interposed at a contact portion between theground conductor 111 and the upper power supply rod 148.

The inner upper electrode 138 forms a shower head for injecting aspecific gas on the wafer W mounted on the susceptor 116. Further, theinner upper electrode 138 includes a circular electrode plate 160 havinga plurality of gas injection openings 160 a and an electrode support 162for attachably and detachably supporting a top surface of the electrodeplate 160. The electrode support 162 is formed in a circular plate shapehaving a diameter substantially same as that of the electrode plate 160.

The electrode support 162 forms therein a buffer chamber 163 of acircular plate-shaped space. An annular partition wall member 164provided in the buffer chamber 163 partitions the buffer chamber 163into an inner and an outer buffer chamber, i.e., a first buffer chamber163 a formed of a circular plate-shaped space and a second bufferchamber 163 b formed of a ring-shaped space surrounding the first bufferchamber 163 a. The annular partition wall member 164 is formed of anO-ring, for example.

The first and the second buffer chamber 163 a and 163 b are configuredto respectively face a central region (central portion) of the wafer Won the susceptor 116 and an outer peripheral region (edge portion)thereof surrounding the central region.

The gas injection openings 160 a communicate with bottom surfaces of thebuffer chambers 163 a and 163 b, thereby allowing a specific gas to beinjected through the first and the second buffer chamber 163 a and 163 bto the central and the edge portion of the wafer W, respectively. A gassupply system 200 is configured to supply the specific gas to each ofthe buffer chambers 163 a and 163 b.

As shown in FIG. 1, a lower power feeder 170 is electrically connectedwith a top surface of the electrode support 162. The lower power feeder170 is connected with the upper power supply rod 148 via the connector150. A variable condenser 172 is provided in the lower power feeder 170.By adjusting an electrostatic capacitance of the variable condenser 172,it is possible to adjust a comparative ratio between an intensity of anelectric field formed right under the outer upper electrode 136 and thatof an electric field formed right under the inner upper electrode 138,the electric fields being formed by the high frequency voltage appliedfrom the first high frequency power supply 154.

A gas exhaust port 174 is formed at a bottom portion of the processingchamber 110 and connected via a gas exhaust line 176 with a gas exhaustunit 178 having a vacuum pump and the like. By exhausting an inside ofthe processing chamber 110 with the use of the gas exhaust unit 178, theinside of the processing chamber 110 can be depressurized to a desiredvacuum level.

A second high frequency power supply 182 is electrically connected withthe susceptor 116 via a matching unit 180. The second high frequencypower supply 182 can output a high frequency voltage having a frequencybetween 2 MHz and 20 MHz, e.g., a frequency of 2 MHz.

A low pass filter 184 is electrically connected with the inner upperelectrode 138 of the upper electrode 134. The low pass filter 184 blocksthe high frequency power from the first high frequency power supply 154and passes the high frequency from the second high frequency powersupply 182 to the ground. Meanwhile, a high pass filter 186 iselectrically connected with the susceptor 116 forming the lowerelectrode. The high pass filter 186 passes the high frequency power fromthe first high frequency power supply 154 to the ground.

(Gas Supply System)

Hereinafter, the gas supply system 200 will be described with referenceto FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an example in which theprocessing gas is divided into a first processing gas (processing gasfor the central portion) to be supplied toward the central portion ofthe wafer W and a second processing gas (processing gas for the edgeportion) to be supplied toward the edge portion of the wafer W. However,there may be provided another example in which the processing gas isdivided into more than three types without being limited to theaforementioned two types.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gas supply system 200 includes a processing gassupply unit 210 for supplying processing gas for performing on a wafer aspecific process such as a film formation process, an etching process orthe like and an additional gas supply unit 220 for supplying specificadditional gas. The processing gas supply unit 210 is connected with aprocessing gas supply line 202 forming a processing gas feed passage.Further, the processing gas supply line 202 is branched into a firstbranch line 204 forming a first branch path and a second branch line 206forming a second branch path. The first and the second branch line 204and 206 may be branched at a position inside or outside a branch flowcontrol unit 230.

The first and the second branch line 204 and 206 are respectivelyconnected with different portions of the upper electrode 134 in theprocessing chamber 110, e.g., with the first and the second bufferchamber 163 a and 163 b of the inner upper electrode 138.

The gas supply system 200 includes the branch flow control unit (e.g.,flow splitter) 230 for controlling respective branch flows of the firstand the second processing gas flowing in the first and the second branchline 204 and 206 based on respective inner pressures of the first andthe second branch line 204 and 206. Further, the additional gas supplyunit 220 is connected with the second branch line 206 at a position in adownstream side of the branch flow control unit 230 via an additionalgas supply line 208.

The gas supply system 200 distributes the processing gas from theprocessing gas supply unit 210 into the first and the second branch line204 and 206 while controlling branch flows thereof with the use of thebranch flow control unit 230. The first processing gas flowing in thefirst branch line 204 is supplied toward the central portion of thewafer W via the first buffer chamber 163 a, whereas the secondprocessing gas flowing in the second branch line 206 is supplied towardthe edge portion of the wafer W via the second buffer chamber 163 b.

To be specific, when the additional gas is supplied from the additionalgas supply unit 220, the additional gas flows toward the second branchline 206 via the additional gas supply line 208 and thus is mixed withthe second processing gas. Then, the additional gas is supplied,together with the second processing gas, toward the edge portion of thewafer W via the second buffer chamber 163 b. A specific configurationexample of the gas supply system 200 will be described later.

The substrate processing apparatus 100 is connected with a controller300 for controlling each unit thereof. The controller 300 is configuredto control the DC power supply 122, the first high frequency powersupply 154, the second high frequency power supply 182 and the like inaddition to the gas supply system 200 including the processing gassupply unit 210, the additional gas supply unit 220, the branch flowcontrol unit 230 and the like.

(Specific Configuration Example of Gas Supply System)

The following is a detailed description on a configuration example ofeach unit of the gas supply system 200. FIG. 2 is a block diagramillustrating a specific configuration example of the gas supply system200. Hereinafter, there will be described a case where the additionalgas supply unit has an additional gas line.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processing gas supply unit 210 includes a gasbox accommodating therein a plurality of (e.g., three) processing gaslines 1 to 3. At respective upstream sides of the processing gas lines 1to 3, gas supply sources 212 a to 212 c are provided, respectively.Further, downstream sides of the processing gas lines 1 to 3 are joinedto be connected with the processing gas supply line 202. Provided on theprocessing gas lines 1 to 3 are mass flow controllers 214 a to 214 c foradjusting respective flow rates of the gases from the gas supply sources212 a to 212 c. The gases from the gas supply sources 212 a to 212 c ofthe processing gas supply unit 210 are mixed at a preset flow rateratio. Next, the mixed gas flows along the processing gas supply line202 and then is distributed into the first and the second branch line204 and 206.

The gas supply source 212 a airtightly seals therein, e.g., a C_(X)F_(Y)gas (a fluorocarbon-based fluorine compound such as CF₄, C₄F₈, C₄F₈,C₅F₈ or the like) as an etching gas; the gas supply source 212 bairtightly seals therein, e.g., an O₂ gas as a gas for controlling adeposition of CF-based reaction products; and the gas supply source 212c airtightly seals therein, e.g., an Ar gas as a rare gas serving as acarrier gas. The number of gas supply sources of the processing gassupply unit 210 may be one, two or four or more without being limited tothe example shown in FIG. 2.

As exemplarily shown in FIG. 2, the additional gas supply unit 220includes a gas box accommodating therein an additional gas line. Theadditional gas line is connected, at the upstream side thereof, with agas supply source 222 a, and, at the downstream side thereof, with theadditional gas supply line 208. Provided on the additional gas line is amass flow controller 224 a for adjusting a flow rate of the gas from thegas supply source 222 a. The gas from the gas supply source 222 a of theadditional gas supply unit 220 flows along the additional gas supplyline 208 and then is supplied to the second branch line 206 at adownstream side of the branch flow control unit 230.

The gas supply source 222 a airtightly seals therein a C_(X)F_(Y) gas(e.g., a CF₄ gas) capable of facilitating an etching, for example.Further, the gas supply source 222 a may airtightly seal therein an O₂gas capable of controlling a deposition of CF-based reaction products,for example. The number of gas supply sources of the additional gassupply unit 220 may be more than two without being limited to theexample shown in FIG. 2.

The branch flow control unit 230 includes a pressure control unit 232for controlling an inner pressure of the first branch line 204 and apressure control unit 234 for controlling an inner pressure of thesecond branch line 206. To be specific, the pressure control unit 232has a pressure sensor 232 a for detecting an inner pressure of the firstbranch line 204 and a valve 232 b for controlling an opening degree ofthe first branch line 204. The pressure controller 234 has a pressuresensor 234 a for detecting an inner pressure of the second branch line206 and a valve 234 b for controlling an opening degree of the secondbranch line 206.

The pressure control units 232 and 234 are connected with a pressurecontroller 240 for controlling, in accordance with instructions from thecontroller 300, opening degrees of the valves 232 b and 234 b based onthe pressures detected by the pressure sensors 232 a and 234 a,respectively. The controller 300 controls the branch flow control unit230 by regulating a pressure ratio, for example. In such a case, thepressure controller 240 controls respective opening degrees of thevalves 232 b and 234 b to achieve a target flow rate ratio between thefirst and the second processing gas in accordance with instructions fromthe controller 300, i.e., a target pressure ratio between the innerpressures of the first and the second branch line 204 and 206. Thepressure controller 240 may be built in the branch flow control unit230, as a control board, or may be provided separately from the branchflow control unit 230. Further, the pressure controller 240 may beprovided inside the controller 300.

In such a substrate processing apparatus 100, before an etching processand the like are performed on the wafer, the gas supply system 200supplies a specific gas into the processing chamber 110. To be specific,the supply of the processing gas from the processing gas supply unit 210is initiated and, then, the branch flow control unit 230 ispressure-ratio-controlled. After the pressure ratio between the innerpressures of the first and the second branch line 204 and 206 isregulated to be kept at the target pressure ratio, the additional gasfrom the additional gas supply unit 220 is supplied to the second branchline 206.

In case the additional gas is supplied while it is controlled to besupplied at a set flow rate from the beginning, time required for theadditional gas to reach the processing chamber via the additional gassupply line 208 is lengthened. For example, the processing gas isalready flowing in the second branch line 206 where the additional gasflows toward, so that a pressure of a specific level has been generatedtherein. Therefore, if the set flow rate of the additional gas is verysmall (e.g., a few sccm), a pressure difference between the additionalgas supply line 208 and the second branch line 206 is great, whichhinders a flow of the additional gas. In this case, the additional gasgradually fills the additional gas supply line 208, so that an innerpressure of the additional gas supply line 208 gradually increases. Whenthe pressure difference between the additional gas supply line 208 andthe second branch line 206 becomes small, the additional gas flowstoward the second branch line 206 and thus reaches the processingchamber 110. In other words, if the additional gas is supplied at theset flow rate from the beginning, time required for supplying theadditional gas is lengthened.

In order to rapidly increase the inner pressure of the additional gassupply line 208 upon the supply of the additional gas, the presentinvention performs an additional gas supply control (additional gassupply process) for supplying the additional gas at an initial flow rateFa (at the time t₀) greater than a set flow rate fa and then at the setflow rate fa after lapse of a period of time T (e.g., a few seconds), asshown in FIG. 3. Accordingly, the inner pressure of the additional gassupply line 208 can be immediately increased, which makes easier for theadditional gas to flow toward the second branch line 206. Hence, it ispossible to shorten time required from the initiation of the supply ofthe additional gas to the accomplishment of a stable pressure (gasconcentration) thereof supplied to the processing chamber 110, whichprevents to the utmost a deterioration of a throughput.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate results of experiments in which the additionalgas was supplied while changing the initial flow rate Fa by theaforementioned additional gas supply process. Referring to FIGS. 4 and5, there are shown experimental data obtained when the additional gashaving the set flow rate fa of 7 sccm was supplied at the initial flowrates Fa of 21 sccm and 50 sccm. Herein, time T for allowing theadditional gas to be supplied at the initial flow rates Fa was set to beone second. Further, ya1 and yb1 shown in the graphs of FIGS. 4 and 5indicate concentrations of O₂ gas serving as an additional gas, whereinthe concentrations are detected by a gas concentration measuring deviceattached to a gas inlet port of the processing chamber 110. Moreover,horizontal and vertical axes in FIGS. 4 and 5 represent the time and thegas concentration, respectively. As can be seen therefrom, theconcentration of O₂ gas varies depending on flow rates of O₂ gassupplied to the gas inlet port of the processing chamber 110, so that aflow rate variation of the additional gas supplied to the processingchamber 110 can be estimated from the gas concentration variation.

Referring to the experimental data shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, aninclination of a gas concentration variation curve becomes sharp as theinitial flow rates Fa increase. Accordingly, as the initial flow ratesFa increase, time required from the initiation of the supply of theadditional gas to the accomplishment of a stable gas concentrationthereof supplied to the processing chamber 110 is shortened. As shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, about 26.1 seconds and about 20.2 seconds were actuallydetected as the time required from the initiation of the supply of theadditional gas to the accomplishment of the stable gas concentrationthereof supplied to the processing chamber 110 (additional gas supplytime). On the other hand, in case the additional gas was supplied at theset flow rate from the beginning, tens of seconds were requiredtherefor. Hence, the additional gas supply time can be greatly shortenedby performing the additional gas supply process of the presentinvention.

Besides, in order to rapidly increase the inner pressure of theadditional gas supply line 208 upon the supply of the additional gas, itis preferable to reduce a volume of the additional gas supply line 208.Since the volume of the additional gas supply line 208 varies dependingon a line diameter and a line length, the inner pressure of theadditional gas supply line 208 can be more rapidly increased by reducingthe line diameter or the line length.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate results of experiments in which the additionalgas was supplied while varying a line diameter and a line length of theadditional gas supply line 208. Further, FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrateexperimental data obtained when the additional gas was supplied at theinitial flow rates of FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

Notations of ya2 and yb2 in FIGS. 6 and 7 indicate specific examples ofusing a line having a diameter half of that of the additional gas supplyline 208 of FIGS. 4 and 5. Further, notations of ya3 and yb3 in FIGS. 6and 7 represent specific examples of using a filter having a lengthshorter than that of a filter attached in the additional gas supply line208 of FIGS. 4 and 5.

Moreover, notations of ya4 and yb4 in FIGS. 6 and 7 indicate specificexamples of using the line having the diameter reduced by half and thefilter having the shorter length. In this experiment, a length of theline was changed by changing a length of the filter provided in theadditional gas supply line 208.

In this experiment, about 19.4 seconds, about 21 seconds and about 13.9seconds were detected in ya2, ya3 and ya4 of FIG. 6 as the time requiredfrom the initiation of the supply of the additional gas to theaccomplishment of the stable gas concentration thereof supplied to theprocessing chamber 110 (additional gas supply time). Further, about 10.9seconds, about 10 seconds and about 5.6 seconds were detected in yb2,yb3 and yb4 of FIG. 7.

As can be seen from the experimental data of FIGS. 6 and 7, theadditional gas supply time is shortened as a line diameter of theadditional gas supply line 208 and a length of the filter (line length)decrease. The additional gas supply time is further shortened byreducing the line diameter and the length of the filter (line length)while increasing the initial flow rate Fa.

Accordingly, it is preferable to reduce a volume of the additional gassupply line 208 by controlling the line diameter or the line length. Forexample, even in case the set flow rate fa of the additional gas is verysmall compared with a total set flow rate fm of the processing gas, itis possible to rapidly increase an inner pressure of the additional gassupply line 208 by reducing a volume of the additional gas supply line208 than that of the second branch line 206.

If the initial flow rate Fa of the additional gas is increased, theinner pressure of the additional gas supply line 208 increases morerapidly, which facilitates a flow of the additional gas. Hence, theinner pressure thereof temporarily overshoots the set flow rate fa andthen becomes stable at the set flow rate fa (see, e.g., yb4 of FIG. 7).In case the overshoot occurs, the time required until the gasconcentration becomes stable is shortened. Moreover, the overshootincreases as the initial flow rate Fa increases, thereby shortening thetime required until the gas concentration becomes stable.

However, an excessive increase in the overshoot may lengthen the timerequired until the gas concentration becomes stable. For example, whenthe inner pressure of the additional gas 208 is excessively higher thanthat of the second branch line 206 where the additional gas flowstoward, the additional gas flows all at once. Consequently, theovershoot increases, thereby lengthening the time required until the gasconcentration becomes stable.

To that end, the present invention performs the additional gas supplyprocess after determining an optimal value of the initial flow rate Faof the additional gas before supplying the gas to the processing chamber110. Preferably, the optimal value of the initial flow rate Fa is set tobe a maximum flow rate at which the inner pressure of the additional gassupply line 208 reaches that of the second branch line 206 at a lapse ofa period of time. Since it is possible to determine the optimal initialflow rate Fa in accordance with a line configuration of the gas supplysystem, the additional gas supply time can be further shortened.

Hereinafter, the additional gas supply process of the present inventionwill be described in detail. The additional gas supply process isincluded in a series of gas supply processes for supplying a processinggas and an additional gas to the processing chamber 110. Such a gassupply process is performed by a program stored in a controller 300.

(Configuration Example of Controller)

Hereinafter, a specific configuration example of the controller 300 willbe described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 provides a block diagramshowing a configuration example of the controller 300. As shown in FIG.2, the controller 300 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 310forming a controller main body; a RAM (random access memory) 320 havinga memory area used for various data processing performed by the CPU 310;a display unit 330 formed of a liquid crystal display and the like fordisplaying a manipulation screen, a selection screen and the like; amanipulation unit 340 containing a touch panel and the like for allowingan operator to input or edit various data such as process recipes andthe like and to output various data such as the process recipes orprocess logs to a specific storage medium; a storage unit 350; and aninterface 360.

The storage unit 350 stores therein, e.g., processing programs forperforming various processes (e.g., a gas supply process, an initialsupply process of the additional gas and the like) of the substrateprocessing apparatus 100, information (e.g., gas supply process data)required for executing the processing programs and the like. Such astorage unit 350 includes, e.g., a memory, an HDD (hard disk drive) andthe like. The CPU 310 reads the program data and the like on demand andexecutes various processing programs. For example, the CPU 310 performsa gas supply process for supplying a specific gas into the processingchamber 110 before processing the wafer. As the gas supply process, aprocessing gas supply process (processing gas supply control) and anadditional gas supply process (additional gas supply control) areperformed after determining an initial flow rate of the additional gas.Such a gas supply process is carried out based on gas supply processdata 352 stored in the storage unit 350.

The gas supply process data 352 has a data table shown in FIG. 9, forexample. The data table at least stores therein processing gas data andadditional gas data. Installed in the data table shown in FIG. 9 is astorage area for storing therein, as the processing gas data, set flowrates fm(1) to fm(3) of the processing gas lines 1 to 3, a total setflow rate fm (=fm(1)+fm(2)+fm(3)) of the processing gas flowing in theprocessing gas supply line 202 and a flow rate ratio C:E between thefirst and the second processing gas. On the assumption that the totalset flow rate fm of the processing gas is 100, the flow rate ratio E ofthe second processing gas can be easily obtained by subtracting C from100, i.e., E=100−C. Further, installed in the data table shown in FIG. 9is a storage area for storing therein, as the additional gas data, a setflow rate fa of the additional gas line, an initial flow rate Fa of theadditional gas and an initial time T corresponding to a period of timefor allowing the additional gas to be supplied at the initial flow rateFa.

The set flow rates of the processing gas and the additional gas in thegas supply process data 352 can be preset, for example, by an operator'smanipulating the manipulation unit 340. The initial flow rate Fa of theadditional gas is determined by an initial flow rate determining processto be described later. Although the initial time T is preset as adefault value (e.g., one second), it can be changed by an operator'smanipulating the manipulation unit 340.

The interface 360 is connected with each unit controlled by the CPU 310,such as the branch flow control unit 230, the processing gas supply unit210, the additional gas supply unit 220 and the like. The interface 360includes a plurality of I/O ports and the like, for example.

The CPU 310, the RAM 320, the display unit 330, the manipulation unit340, the storage unit 350, and the interface 360 are connected with eachother by bus lines such as a control bus, a data bus and the like.

(Process for Determining Initial Flow Rate of Additional Gas)

In the gas supply process performed by the controller 300, the initialflow rate of the additional gas is determined before supplying the gasto the processing chamber 110. A specific example of the initial flowrate determining process is illustrated in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 10,the controller 300 calculates, in a step S110, a flow rate fe of thesecond processing gas based on the total set flow rate fm of theprocessing gas and the flow rate ratio C:E between the first and thesecond processing gas, both being obtained from the gas supply processdata 352. To be specific, the flow rate fe of the second processing gasis calculated by using Equation 1-1;fe=[Ne·E/(Nc·C+Ne·E)]·fm,  Equation 1-1wherein C and E indicate a flow rate ratio of the first processing gasand that of the second processing gas, respectively. Further, Nc and Nerepresent known parameters determined by a configuration of thesubstrate processing apparatus 100 (e.g., a configuration of the upperelectrode 134). To be specific, Nc and Ne respectively indicate thenumber of gas injection openings 160 a in the central portion, i.e., inthe first buffer chamber 163 a, and that of the gas injection openings160 a in the edge portion, i.e., in the second buffer chamber 163 b.

Next, the set flow rate fa of the additional gas is obtained from thegas supply process data 352 in a step S120. Then, a total flow rate Fe(=a flow rate fe of the second processing gas+the set flow rate fa ofthe additional gas) of the gases flowing in the second branch line isdetermined in a step S130.

Thereafter, an inner pressure Pe of the second branch line 206 isdetermined, in a step S140, based on the total flow rate Fe of thegases. To be specific, when the set flow rate fa of the additional gasis smaller than a specific pressure (e.g., 500 sccm), the inner pressurePe thereof can be obtained by using Equation 1-2;Pe=p1·Fe ^(p2),  Equation 1-2wherein p1 and p2 indicate parameters serving as conversion factors forthe inner pressure of the second branch line. On the other hand, whenthe set flow rate fa of the additional gas is greater than the specificpressure (e.g., 500 sccm), the inner pressure Pe thereof can be obtainedby using a Equation 1-3;Pe=q1·Fe+q2,  Equation 1-3wherein q1 and q2 indicate parameters serving as conversion factors forthe inner pressure of the second branch line.

Next, the initial flow rate Fa of the additional gas is determined andstored in a step S150. To be specific, the initial flow rate Fa isdetermined based on the inner pressure Pe of the second branch line byusing Equation 1-4 while fixing the initial time T to a period of time(e.g., one second). Referring to Equation 1-4, an optimal value of theinitial flow rate Fa can be determined based on a volume of theadditional gas supply line 208 for allowing the additional gas to flowtherein and the inner pressure Pe of the second branch line 206 wherethe additional gas from the additional gas supply line 208 flows toward:Fa=α·(Pe/P)·β·60·v/(T−γ),  Equation 1-4wherein P and v indicate the atmospheric pressure (760 Torr) and avolume of the additional gas supply line 208, respectively. Moreover, α,β and γ represent parameters determined by a configuration of thesubstrate processing apparatus 100. To be specific, α, β and γ representdevice dependent parameters relating to a pressure ratio of the firstand the second processing gas, a line volume and an offset,respectively. Although α and β may be expressed as a single parameter,the apparatus can be more precisely controlled by setting α and βseparately.

By using Equation 1-4, the initial flow rate Fa can be determined to bea maximum flow rate required for an inner pressure of the additional gassupply line to reach the inner pressure Pe of the second branch line ata lapse of the initial time (specific time) T. In other words, it ispossible to determine the optimal initial flow rate Fa at which theinner pressure of the additional gas supply line 208 can be increased tothe inner pressure Pe of the second branch line in a short period oftime (herein, one second), thereby shortening time required from theinitiation of the supply of the additional gas from the additional gassupply line 208 to the accomplishment of the stable pressure thereofsupplied to the processing chamber 110 via the second branch line.

Such determined initial flow rate Fa of the additional gas is storedspecifically in a storage area for the initial flow rate Fa in the gassupply process data 352. After the initial flow rate Fa of theadditional gas is obtained, the initial flow rate determining process iscompleted. Then, the wafer is processed by actually supplying the gasesto the processing chamber 110.

A specific example of processes performed after the initial flow ratedetermining process is described in FIG. 11. As can be seen from FIG.11, data (the processing gas data and the additional gas data) necessaryfor the processes are obtained in a step S210 from the gas supplyprocess data 352.

Next, the processing gas supply process (processing gas supply control)is initiated in a step S220 by the processing gas supply unit 210. To bespecific, the processing gas is supplied from the processing gas lines 1to 3 of the processing gas supply unit 210 at the respective set flowrates fm(1) to fm(3). To be specific, the C_(X)F_(Y) gas, the O₂ gas andthe Ar gas, for example, from the gas supply sources 212 a to 212 c aresupplied at respective set flow rates fm(1) to fm(3) and then mixed at apreset mixing ratio. Thus generated gaseous mixture flows as aprocessing gas along the processing gas supply line 202.

At this time, the controller 300 controls the branch flow control unit230 to control branch flows of the processing gas by regulating apressure ratio. To be specific, when the controller 300 issuesinstructions for a pressure ratio control, the branch flow control unit230 adjusts, based on the pressures detected by the pressure sensors 232a and 234 a, respective opening degrees of the valves 232 b and 234 b bycontrolling the pressure controller 240, thereby regulating to be keptat a target pressure ratio the pressure ratio between the first and thesecond branch line 204 and 206. Accordingly, a flow rate ratio betweenthe first and the second processing gas is determined, the first and thesecond processing gas being supplied to the first and the second chamber163 a and 163 b via the first and the second branch line 204 and 206,respectively.

Then, it is checked in a step S230 weather or not the inner pressures ofthe first and the second branch line 204 and 206 are stable. If it isdetermined that the inner pressures thereof are stable, the additionalgas supply process (additional gas supply control) is initiated in stepsS240 to S270.

First of all, an additional gas from an additional gas line of theadditional gas supply unit 220 is supplied at an initial flow rate Fa inthe step S240. Then, it is checked in the step S250 whether or not aninitial time T (one second in this example) has elapsed.

If it is determined in the step S250 that the initial time T haselapsed, the additional gas is supplied at a set flow rate fa in thestep S260. In such additional gas supply process, the additional gassupplied from the additional gas supply unit 220 to the second branchline 206 via the additional gas supply line 208 reaches the processingchamber 110 in a short period of time, and is then supplied at the setflow rate fa, together with the second processing gas, to the processingchamber 110.

In this manner, a C_(X)F_(Y) gas (e.g., CF₄ gas) capable of facilitatingthe etching is supplied at a specific flow rate from the additional gassupply unit 220 a to the second buffer chamber 163 b via the secondbranch line 206. Accordingly, the second buffer chamber 163 b issupplied with the processing gas containing a large amount of CF₄ gascompared with that contained in processing gas supplied to the firstbuffer chamber 163 a. In this way, the gas components and the flow rateof the processing gas to be supplied to the second buffer chamber 163 bare determined.

Thereafter, in a step S270, it is determined whether the inner pressuresof the first and the second branch line 204 and 206 are stable or not.If it is determined in the step S270 that the respective inner pressuresthereof are stable, the wafer is processed in a step S280. By performingthe aforementioned gas supply process, in the substrate processingapparatus 100, the gaseous mixture is supplied from the first bufferchamber 163 a to a vicinity of the central region of the wafer W on thesusceptor 116 under the depressurized atmosphere and, also, the gaseousmixture containing a large amount of CF₄ gas is supplied from the secondbuffer chamber 163 b to the peripheral region (edge portion) of thewafer W. Accordingly, etching characteristics on the peripheral regionof the wafer W are controlled to be comparatively adjusted with respectto those on the central region of the wafer W, which results in anin-surface uniformity of etching the wafer W.

Referring to the processes shown in FIG. 11, the processing gas from theprocessing gas supply unit 210 is distributed into the first and thesecond branch line 204 and 206. The processing gas distributed into thefirst branch line 204 is supplied to the processing chamber 110 as it issupplied from the processing gas supply unit 210, whereas the processinggas distributed into the second branch line 206 is added thereto withthe additional gas and then supplied to the processing chamber 110 withadjusted gas components and flow rates. Accordingly, the processing gashaving components common to the branch lines 204 and 206 can be suppliedfrom the processing gas supply unit 210 to each of the branch lines 204and 206 and, also, the gas components or the ratio of the flow rates ofthe processing gas flowing in the second branch line 206 can be adjustedby adding thereto the additional gas on demand.

Therefore, when the processing gas distributed into the branch lines hasa large number of common components, the number of lines is reducedcompared with a case where each of the gas supply sources has its ownbranch line. By minimizing the number of lines of the gas supply system200, the gas supply system 200 can be configured with a simple lineconfiguration. Further, since the branch flows of the processing gas arecontrolled based on the respective inner pressures of the branch lines204 and 206, the gas can be supplied from plural portions in theprocessing chamber 110 with a simple control operation.

The additional gas is supplied at the initial flow rate Fa greater thanthe set flow rate fa for the initial time T (e.g., one second) and thensupplied at the set flow rate fa afterward. Accordingly, the innerpressure of the additional gas supply line 208 increases faster comparedwith a case where the additional gas is supplied from the beginning atthe set flow rate fa of a very small amount. Therefore, it is easier forthe additional gas to flow toward the second branch line 206, whichshortens time required from the initiation of the supply of theadditional gas to the accomplishment of a stable pressure (gasconcentration) thereof supplied to the processing chamber 110(additional gas supply time). Moreover, since the initial flow rate Faof the additional gas is an optimal value determined based on the volumeand the inner pressure of the additional gas supply line 208, theadditional gas supply process can be performed at the optimal initialflow rate Fa in the substrate processing apparatus. Consequently, theinitial flow rate Fa of the additional gas can be optimized depending onthe substrate processing apparatus to minimize the additional gas supplytime.

Hereinafter, a result of an experiment of supplying an additional gas bythe aforementioned additional gas supply process will be described withreference to FIG. 12. In this experiment, Ar gas and O₂ gas wererespectively supplied from the processing gas supply unit 210 and theadditional gas supply unit 220 and, then, states of the gases suppliedto the processing chamber 110 were checked. To be specific, Ar gas wassupplied at a set flow rate of 1100 sccm. Further, O₂ gas was suppliedat an optimal initial flow rate of 49.9 sccm from the time t₀ for aperiod of time, e.g., one second, and then at a set flow rate of 7 sccm.FIG. 12 provides a graph showing a result of detecting concentrations ofAr gas and O₂ gas by using the gas concentration measuring deviceattached to the gas inlet port of the processing chamber 110. Ahorizontal and a vertical axis in FIG. 12 represent the time and the gasconcentration, respectively. As can be seen therefrom, theconcentrations of Ar gas and O₂ gas vary depending on flow rates of Argas and O₂ gas supplied to the gas inlet port of the processing chamber110, so that a flow rate variation of Ar gas and O₂ gas supplied to theprocessing chamber 110 can be estimated from the gas concentrationvariation.

Referring to the experimental data shown in FIG. 12, the concentrationof O₂ gas is stable after a time period M has elapsed from theinitiation time t₀ of the O₂ gas supply. The time period M correspondingto the additional gas supply time was 4.5 second. On the other hand,when O₂ gas was supplied at the set flow rate from the beginning, tensof seconds were detected as the additional gas supply time. Therefore,the additional gas supply time can be greatly shortened by performingthe additional gas supply process of the present invention.

The controller 300 may control, before supplying the additional gas, thebranch flow control unit 230 to control branch flows of the processinggas by fixedly maintaining the pressure thereof. To be specific, whenthe controller 300 issues instructions for a fixed pressure control, thebranch flow control unit 230 adjusts, based on the pressures detected bythe pressure sensors 232 a and 234 a, respective opening degrees of thevalves 232 b and 234 b by controlling the pressure controller 240,thereby fixedly maintaining the inner pressure of the first branch line204.

In this way, even if the inner pressure of the second branch line 206 ischanged due to the supply of the additional gas thereto, the processinggas required to flow toward the second branch line 206 can be preventedfrom flowing toward the first branch line 204. Accordingly, the ratio ofthe flow rates (distribution amounts) of the processing gas flowingtoward the first and the second branch line 204 and 206 can be preventedfrom being changed by supplying the additional gas, and thus theprocessing gas can be supplied to different areas on a surface of awafer at respective desired flow rates. Consequently, a desiredin-surface uniformity can be achieved.

(Additional Gas Supply Process Performed in Consideration of MaximumAllowable Flow Rate of Additional Gas Line)

The Following is a Description of an Additional Gas supply processperformed in consideration of a maximum allowable flow rate of theadditional gas line of the additional gas supply unit 220. In theinitial flow rate determining process of the additional gas in FIG. 10,the initial flow rate Fa is determined while fixing the initial time Tto a period of time (e.g., one second), so that the initial flow rate Famay exceed a maximum allowable flow rate fmax. In such a case, theadditional gas is not allowed to be supplied at the initial flow rateFa.

Therefore, it is preferable to lengthen the initial time T while settingthe maximum allowable flow rate fmax as the initial flow rate Fa.Accordingly, the additional gas can be supplied for the compensatedinitial time T at the initial flow rate Fa corresponding to the maximumallowable flow rate fmax, which enables the additional gas supplyprocess to be optimally performed within the maximum allowable flow ratefmax. Hence, the additional gas supply process can be performed for theoptimal initial time T in accordance with a configuration of thesubstrate processing apparatus.

Hereinafter, a specific example of the initial flow rate determiningprocess performed in consideration of the maximum allowable flow ratefmax of the additional gas line will be described with reference to FIG.13. Steps S110 to S150 of the initial flow rate determining processdescribed in FIG. 13 are the same as those depicted in FIG. 10.

In a step S160, it is checked whether or not the determined initial flowrate Fa exceeds the maximum allowable flow rate fmax of the additionalgas line. If it is determined that the initial flow rate Fa does notexceed the maximum allowable flow rate fmax of the additional gas line,a series of the initial flow rate determining process is completed. Onthe contrary, if it is determined that the initial flow rate Fa exceedsthe maximum allowable flow rate fmax of the additional gas line, theinitial flow rate Fa is reset in a step S170 and the initial time T isthen compensated in a step S180.

To be specific, the maximum allowable flow rate fmax of the additionalgas line is set and stored as the initial flow rate Fa in the data tableof the gas supply process data 352 in the step 170. Next, the initialtime T is compensated and stored in the step S180. In other words, in astate where the initial flow rate Fa is fixed to the maximum allowableflow rate fmax of the additional gas line, the initial time T isdetermined by using Equation 1-5 which is derived from Equation 1-4:T=α·(Pe/P)·β·60·v/Fa+γ.  Equation 1-5

By using the Equation 1-5, the initial time T can be determined to betime required for an inner pressure of the additional gas supply line208 to reach that of the second branch line 206 in supplying theadditional gas at the initial flow rate Fa corresponding to the maximumallowable flow rate fmax. Accordingly, the initial processing can beperformed for the optimal initial time T in accordance with aconfiguration of the substrate processing apparatus, which enables theadditional gas supply control to be optimally performed within themaximum allowable flow rate fmax of the additional gas line. In thiscase, although the initial time T is lengthened because the initial flowrate after a compensation thereof is set to be a maximum allowable flowrate smaller than the initial flow rate before the compensation, theadditional gas supply time can be shortened compared with a case wherethe additional gas is supplied at the set flow rate from the beginning.After the compensated initial time T is stored in the data table of thegas supply process data 352, a series of the initial flow ratedetermining process is completed.

(Another Specific Configuration Example of Gas Supply System)

The following is a description on a specific configuration example ofeach unit of the gas supply system 200. FIG. 14 is a block diagramshowing another specific configuration example of the gas supply system200. Hereinafter, there will be described a case where the additionalgas supply unit has a plurality of additional gas lines.

As shown in FIG. 14, the additional gas supply unit 220 includes a gasbox accommodating therein a plurality of (e.g., two) additional gaslines 1 and 2. At respective upstream sides of the additional gas lines1 and 2, gas supply sources 222 a and 222 b are provided, respectively.Further, downstream sides of the additional gas lines 1 and 2 are joinedto be connected with the additional gas supply line 208. Provided on theadditional gas lines 1 and 2 are mass flow controllers 224 a and 224 bfor adjusting respective flow rates of the gases from the gas supplysources 222 a and 222 b. The gases from the gas supply sources 222 a and222 b of the additional gas supply unit 220 are mixed at a preset flowrate ratio. Next, the mixed gas flows along the additional gas supplyline 208 and then is supplied to the second branch line 206 at adownstream side of the branch flow control unit 230.

The gas supply source 222 a airtightly seals therein a C_(X)F_(Y) gascapable of facilitating an etching, for example. The gas supply source222 b airtightly seals therein an O₂ gas capable of controlling adeposition of CF-based reaction products, for example. The number of gassupply sources of the additional gas supply unit 220 may be more thanthree without being limited to the example shown in FIG. 14.

In case the additional gas supply unit has plural additional gas lines,an initial flow rate in each of the additional gas lines needs to bedetermined in the additional gas supply process. The gas supply processdata 352 for performing the additional gas supply process has the datatable shown in FIG. 15, for example. The data table at least storestherein processing gas data and additional gas data.

Since the processing gas data in the data table of FIG. 15 is the sameas that of FIG. 9, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.Installed in the data table of FIG. 15 is a storage area for storingtherein, as the additional gas data, set flow rates fa(1) and fa(2) ofthe additional gas lines 1 and 2, a total set flow rate fa(=fa(1)+fa(2)) of the additional gases, initial flow rates Fa1 and Fa2of the additional gas lines 1 and 2, a total initial flow rate Fa(=Fa(1)+Fa(2)) and an initial time T for allowing the additional gasesto be supplied at the initial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2).

In the gas supply process data 352, the processing gas data and the setflow rates of the additional gases in the additional gas data may bepreset by an operator's manipulating the manipulation unit 340. Theinitial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2) of the additional gases and the totalinitial flow rate Fa are determined by an initial flow rate determiningprocess to be described later with reference to FIG. 16. Although theinitial time T is preset as a default value (e.g., one second), it canbe changed by an operator's manipulating the manipulation unit 340.

(Initial Flow Rate Determining Process of Additional Gases)

The controller 300 performs an initial flow rate determining process ofadditional gases based on the gas supply process data 352, the initialflow rate determining process being similar to that shown in FIG. 16. Asshown in FIG. 16, the controller 300 determines, in a step S310, a flowrate fe of the second processing gas based on a total set flow rate fmof the processing gas and a flow rate ratio C:E between the first andthe second processing gas, both being obtained from the gas supplyprocess data 352. The flow rate fe of the second processing gas iscalculated as in the step S110.

A total set flow rate fa in the additional gas lines is obtained in astep S320 from the gas supply process data 352. Then, a total flow rateFe of the gases flowing in the second branch line (i.e., Fe=the flowrate fe of the second processing gas+the total set flow rate fa of theadditional gases) is determined in a step S330.

In a step S340, an inner pressure Pe of the second branch line 206 isdetermined based on the total flow rate Fe. The inner pressure Pethereof is determined as in the step S140. In a step S350, a totalinitial flow rate Fa of the additional gas lines is determined andstored. The total initial flow rate Fa is determined as in the stepS150.

Thereafter, initial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2) in the additional gaslines 1 and 2 are determined and stored in a step S360. The initial flowrates Fa(1) and Fa(2) are determined such that a ratio therebetween isthe same as that between the set flow rates fa(1) and fa(2) of theadditional gas lines 1 and 2. To be specific, it is determined by usingEquation 1-6:Fa(x)=Fa·(f(x)/fa),  Equation 1-6wherein x indicates a numerical order of the additional gas lines. Forexample, x is 1 in the additional gas line 1 and 2 in the additional gasline 2. Moreover, fa and Fa respectively represent the total set flowrate and the total initial flow rate. When the set flow rates in theadditional gas lines fa(1) and fa(2) are respectively 10 sccm and 20sccm, the total set flow rate fa is 30 sccm. Thus, when the totalinitial flow rate Fa is determined to be 60 sccm, the initial flow ratesin the additional gas lines Fa(1) and Fa(2) are respectively determinedto be 20 sccm and 40 sccm.

After the initial flow rates in the additional gas lines are determined,a series of the initial flow rate determining process is completed.Hence, optimal values of the initial flow rates can be determined byusing a ratio between the set flow rates in the additional gas lines.

(Additional Gas Supply Process Performed in Consideration of MaximumAllowable Flow Rates in Additional Gas Lines)

The following is a description of an additional gas supply processperformed in consideration of maximum allowable flow rates in theadditional gas lines of the additional gas supply unit 220. In theinitial flow rate determining process of FIG. 16, the initial flow ratesFa(1) and Fa(2) in the additional gas lines are determined while fixingthe initial time T for supplying the additional gases to a period oftime (e.g., one second), so that an initial flow rate in any additionalgas line may exceed a maximum allowable flow rate therein. In such acase, the additional gases are not allowed to be supplied at suchinitial flow rates. For example, even if the initial flow rate Fa(1)does not exceed a maximum allowable flow rate fmax(1), the initial flowrate Fa(2) may exceed a maximum allowable flow rate fmax(2).

In that case, the initial flow rate Fa(1) is compensated while settingthe initial flow rate Fa(2) to the maximum allowable flow rate fmax(2)and, also, the initial time T is compensated based on the maximumallowable flow rate fmax(2). Accordingly, the additional gases aresupplied at the compensated initial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2) for thecompensated initial time T, which enables an additional gas supplyprocess to be optimally performed while preventing an initial flow ratein any additional gas line from exceeding a maximum allowable flow ratetherein. In this manner, the additional gas supply process can beperformed for the optimal initial time T in accordance with aconfiguration of the substrate processing apparatus. As a result, it ispossible to minimize the additional gas supply time depending onsubstrate processing apparatus employed.

Hereinafter, a specific example of the initial flow rate determiningprocess performed in consideration of the maximum allowable flow ratesin the additional gas lines will be described with reference to FIG. 17.The steps S310 to S360 of the initial flow rate determining processdescribed in FIG. 17 are the same as those illustrated in FIG. 16.

In a step S370, it is checked whether or not the determined initial flowrates Fa(1) and Fa(2) in the additional gas lines 1 and 2 exceed themaximum allowable flow rates fmax(1) and fmax(2) in the additional gaslines, respectively. If it is determined that the initial flow rateFa(1) and the initial flow rate Fa(2) do not exceed the maximumallowable flow rate fmax(1) and fmax(2), respectively, in the additionalgas lines, a series of the initial flow rate determining process iscompleted. On the contrary, if it is determined that either the initialflow rate Fa(1) or the initial flow rate Fa(2) exceeds the maximumallowable flow rate fmax(1) or fmax(2), respectively, in the additionalgas lines, the initial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2) and the initial time Tare compensated in a step S380.

To be specific, the initial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2) and the initialtime T are redetermined, based on either the maximum allowable flow ratefmax(1) or fmax(2) exceeded by the initial flow rate Fa(1) or Fa(2), andstored in a step S380. As described in the aforementioned example, whenthe set flow rates fa(1) and fa(2) in the additional gas lines arerespectively 10 sccm and 20 sccm, if the total initial flow rate Fa isdetermined to be 60 sccm, the initial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2) in theadditional gas lines are respectively determined to be 20 sccm and 40sccm. In such a case, if the maximum allowable flow rate fmax(2) in theadditional gas line 2 is 30 sccm, the additional gas is not allowed tobe supplied at the initial flow rate Fa(2) of 40 sccm and, thus, theinitial flow rate Fa(2) is set to be the maximum allowable flow ratefmax(2), i.e., 30 sccm. Accordingly, the initial flow rate Fa(1) iscompensated such that an initial flow rate ratio becomes the same as theset flow rate ratio and thus becomes 15 sccm. As a result, the totalinitial flow rate Fa becomes 45 sccm (=30 sccm+15 sccm). By applyingsuch values to Equation 1-5, the initial time T can be determined.

After the compensated initial flow rates Fa(1) and Fa(2), total initialflow rate Fa and initial time T are stored in the data table of the gassupply process data 352, a series of the initial flow rate determiningprocess is completed. Although the initial flow rates of the twoadditional gas lines 1 and 2 are determined in the initial flow ratedetermining processes of FIGS. 16 and 17, initial flow rates can bedetermined on the basis of the number of additional gas lines of theadditional gas supply unit 220.

In the initial flow rate determining processes described in theaforementioned embodiments (see FIGS. 10, 13, 16 and 17), if a wafer isprocessed in plural steps and an additional gas has different set flowrates in each of the steps, it is preferable to determine initial flowrates of the additional gas in each of the steps. Hence, the additionalgas supply process can be performed according to the steps of the waferprocessing.

The second branch line 206 of the aforementioned embodiment may beconfigured as a plurality of branch lines branched from the processinggas supply line 202 so that the additional gas from the additional gassupply unit 220 can be respectively supplied to the second branch lines.In such a case, the processing gas can be supplied separately to pluralportions of the peripheral region of the wafer, so that it is possibleto more precisely control the uniformity of processing the peripheralregion of the wafer.

Although the aforementioned embodiment describes a case where theprocessing gas supplied from the gas supply system 200 is injected froman upper portion of the processing chamber 110 toward the wafer W, theremay be provided, without being limited thereto, another case where theprocessing gas is injected from, e.g., a side surface of a plasmageneration space PS in the processing chamber 110, other portions of theprocessing chamber 110. In such a case, since specific processing gascan be supplied from an upper portion and a side portion of the plasmageneration space PS, it is possible to control a gas concentration inthe plasma generation space PS, which leads to an improved in-surfaceuniformity in processing the wafer.

The aforementioned embodiment describes a case in which pressure controlunits control branch flows of the processing gas flowing toward thebranch lines. However, there may be provided, without being limitedthereto, another case in which mass flow controllers control the branchflows of the processing gas flowing toward the branch lines. Further,although the present invention is applied to a plasma etching apparatusas a substrate processing apparatus in the aforementioned embodiment,the present invention may be applied to another substrate processingapparatus where a processing gas is supplied, e.g., a film formingapparatus such as a plasma CVD apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, athermal oxidation apparatus or the like. Moreover, the present inventionmay be applied to a MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) manufacturingapparatus or another substrate processing apparatus for processing as atarget substrate an FPD (flat-panel display), a photomask reticle or thelike, other than a wafer.

The present invention may be applied to a gas supply system forsupplying processing gas to a processing chamber, a substrate processingapparatus and a gas supply method.

As described above, the present invention can provide a gas supplysystem and the like, capable of achieving a desired in-surfaceuniformity with a simple line configuration and shortening time requiredfor supplying an additional gas by a simple control.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to thepreferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes and modification may be made without departing fromthe scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A gas supply method for use with a gas supply system for supplying a gas into a processing chamber for processing a substrate to be processed, wherein the gas supply system includes a processing gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate to be processed; a processing gas supply line for allowing the processing gas from the processing gas supply unit to flow therein; a first and a second branch line branched from the processing gas supply line to be connected with different portions of the processing chamber; a branch flow control unit for controlling branch flows of the processing gas distributed from the processing gas supply line to the first and the second branch line based on inner pressures of the first and the second branch line, respectively; an additional gas supply unit for supplying an additional gas; and an additional gas supply line, joining the second branch line at a downstream side of the branch flow control unit, for allowing the additional gas from the additional gas supply unit to flow therein, the method comprising, before processing the substrate to be processed: performing a control of supplying the processing gas at a first set flow rate from the processing gas supply unit; performing a control of supplying the additional gas at an initial flow rate greater than a second set flow rate and then at the second set flow rate after a lapse of a period of time; and determining, before the performing the control of supplying the processing gas, the initial flow rate based on a volume of the additional gas supply line in which the additional gas flows and the inner pressure of the second branch line into which the additional gas from the additional gas supply line flows, the initial flow rate being a maximum flow rate required for an inner pressure of the additional gas supply line to reach the inner pressure of the second branch line at the lapse of the period of time.
 2. The gas supply method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the initial flow rate being the maximum allowable flow rate and lengthening the period of time to compensate for the reduction of the initial flow rate, if the initial flow rate exceeds a maximum allowable flow rate in the additional gas line.
 3. The gas supply method of claim 2, further comprising: determining the period of time being a time required for the inner pressure of the additional gas supply line to reach the inner pressure of the second branch line when supplying the additional gas at a maximum allowable flow rate set as the initial flow rate. 